Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Bastille Las Vegas Concert

Happy Wednesday Sunshiners! I hope your weekend and week has gone great and all is well! This past weekend I was lucky enough to go to the Bastille show in Las Vegas at the House of Blues, somebody happened to be reselling their tickets on ticket master and I snagged them in seconds. Honestly, that concert was the best thing in my life, even though there were many issues and I even cried at one point, the concert itself made up for it.

This post is going to be mainly on my concert experience and if you'd like to know what happened that particular day, then head on over to youtube.com/alexasunshine83 for a Concert vlog. I'm also going to mainly focus on my experience of the concert, but if you haven't already check out my post on the opening act To Kill a King.

BEFORE THE CONCERT:
Now let's start with before the concert, we had left quite early that morning so we'd all have time to get ready and have a chance to get in line at a good time. Honestly, I would of waited in that line for 12 hours, I was insanely excited and anxious, to the point where I literally couldn't sit still at lunch. So I ran to the House of Blues line (luckily was inside the Mandalay Bay) and got my place as the 3rd person at 2:25pm. Now you can imagine the fantasy I was having of being right in the very front looking at Dan Smith because I literally not only was the 3rd person, but I ended up paying an extra $40 to get a "Front of the Line Pass", yes it's like Fast Pass for concerts. Many people said it wasn't worth it, but they divided the "Front of the Line" people and the normal concert goers and if you have a chance to get that pass, I recommend you do.

IN LINE:
My experience in line was really great and it went way fast, when you're around people that like the same music as you it just makes everything click. Everyone was wonderful too, this one gal even owned a Music Venue and you could tell music is her life, it really kind of inspired me. It was really nice to feel like you actually aren't crazy, like your love for your band isn't something weird because here everyone had the same love and we could gush about Dan Smith's hair for an hour and then discuss our favorite song. Then when Pompeii played in the hotel, everyone just screamed!

DOORS OPEN:
Fast forward to 6pm where the doors open and I happily, excitedly, nervously make my way into the venue and show my ticket to security, which they proceed to tell me my ticket isn't general admission and I must make my way to the very top. Yes, I was as far away as you possibly could be, reason why I ended up balling my eyes out. Eventually I realized I was being silly and should be happy to just be there. BIG TIP OF ADVICE! Always get General Admission (apparently the reseller didn't mention that to me and basically ripped me off)!

Disappointed I was, but I would probably do it again in a heart beat. My sister and I met the loveliest people as well, three different girls all from different places (Wyoming,Colorado, Nevada) and their boyfriends who were forced into coming (they eventually acknowledged Bastille's talent though). Being in Vegas I did realize the amount of alcohol that is in peoples systems and since there weren't many of us and there was a bar right there, many people ordered shots left and right, creating a humorous enviroment.

THE CONCERT STARTS:
By 6:30pm, the lights dimmed and everyones hearts began to race, knowing they weren't on but that it was going to happen soon. The opening act To Kill a King came out and were ready to show their stuff, I did a whole post on them so for right now I'm going to skip what happened.

The intermission only last maybe 20 minutes, I personally can't even remember because my the anticipation was running through my veins. Yet, as fogged emerged from the stage and the lights completely out, I began to feel chills up and down my body. The way they started the concert was fantastic, if you haven't heard their Other Peoples Heart Ache cover CD then I definitely recommend that you do because the words they played to start the concert was a theme throughout those songs.

The beat finally started and everyone's screams shook the room! Bad Blood started it off and completely took my breath away and my voice. The feeling of being there hearing it live is absolutely magical, I've been listening to their whole CD non-stop since November so I knew every word and every beat. The freeness of being able to sing along and jump around was amazing, I completely let go and my head naturally went with every sound (leaving me with some terrible whiplash).

Bastille does not only make great music, but their talent is incredible. Live vs. their CD isn't too different, Dan Smith's voice was so on point and with no slip ups that you can tell how genuine it is on their recordings, which made me have such respect for him. He bounced, danced, jumped, and singed his heart out and without ever being out of breath. He is probably the best singer and performed I have ever seen and him singing Oblivion just melted everyones hearts.

DAN SMITH:Dan Smith's humbleness is also something else that has been recognized, after every single song he said, "thank you so much" and then laughed when the whole room screamed at his adorableness. Even if he was a jerk, I'm sure we'd all still listen to him, but the fact that he truly is a good guy and really appreciated whats happened to him makes you just love him more! Even his low self-esteem about his dance moves made everyone wanna give him a hug, which that British boy can definitely move! Plus, his hair stays in place the entire time, probably the most miraculous thing ever!

So the band was awesome and the lights just added to it! Now when I listen to The Weight of Living Pt. 2 I can see the green lights going back in forth with the intro and you could feel the music through the lights. I remember watching an interview with them talking about how amazing the band Muse lights were (when they had opened for them) and it definitely must of influenced how they set up theirs. Bravo boys!

I just have to mention this real quick because this was probably the only time where I really wanted to cry again, during Flaws, Dan Smith put on his grey hoodie and with security went into the pit, which you can imagine broke my heart. Doing this though really creates such a bond with him and his fans, the fact that first of all he'd risk going into a pit with his fans (some could be scary) and second the the acknowledgement that they are there makes you feel special.

THE END:
This amazing concert probably has changed my life and really made me think about my future (I will touch more on this epiphany in another post), but the last two songs really just brought the whole night together. Rhythm of the Night was completely unreal, the lyric "lift your hands and voices, free your mind and join us" just took reality away and brought you into this place where life is all okay and the beat completely vibrated your body. The last song was absolutely perfect placement, as Pompeii is probably the song that their most known for (in America) they decided play it at the end and leave the concert on a very energized note. I also learned that To Kill a King was actually part of the "eh ooooh oooh eh oh" part in the actual song, so they called them on stage and you could see how fun they were having. A whole stage of British men ... yes, I very much enjoyed it!

Sadly this wonderful night had to end, even though I wished so much that it wouldn't. I will forever remember that concert and will definitely being seeing them as soon as they come back, this time front row!

My sister and I are still blown away at how amazing Dan Smith's voice is and the fact that we actually felt like we were in the front row because of the energy and performance! Bastille is going to be one of those bands that are known forever, like The Killers and Muse. So thankful I was lucky enough to see them. Best experience ever!

I'm not the biggest Bastille fan ever, I will admit. But I do love the voice because it's so unique and have a few of their songs that I absolutely adore. I need to go find new songs of theirs to add to my playlist now!